Off the Shelf: Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2

Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is the most recent instalment of one of the most unique 3D fighting games franchises around today. Set in the universe of the hugely successful Dragon Ball Z Anime series, you have the opportunity to play through the most well known storylines from all the seasons of the show. There are four different game modes and over 100 playable characters which are unlocked by playing through different levels. One major feature is that the original voice actors of both the Japanese and the US versions of the show reprise their roles in the game, making this an authentic fanboy/girl item.

Characters can be customised by equipping them with Z Items which modify their stats or give them new special abilities, and these can be either bought with Zeny (money earned through playing), discovered as secret items hidden throughout the game, or given as rewards for completing certain side quests etc.

The Z items give the game a limited RPG element, where you can earn experience and increase the levels of your characters' abilities. One major difference in this game from most traditional RPGs is that it is actually the Z Items themselves which accumulate experience points rather than the characters and can be swapped around at will from one character to another. For instance, a character might be equipped with a Z Item which gives him +7 defence. Through accumulating experience, the Z Item 'levels up' to +10 defence. The character enjoys the benefit of the +10 defence only as long as he has the Z Item equipped. If you remove the item and give it to a different character, then that character immediately gets the benefit of +10 defence and the first character loses it. This allows for a greater degree of flexibility in how you want to customize your characters, and lets different players adjust the stats of the characters to suit their fighting preferences.

Fighting itself is set in a 3D landscape with a 'chase cam' view from behind your character. In 2-player mode this is presented in split screen format. The controls are difficult to pick up at first, and it is strongly recommended in the game to play through all the training missions first. Once you have completed the training there is still plenty more to learn in the form of combos and special moves, but the in game move list can be difficult to decipher, so downloading a move list FAQ from the 'net will probably be necessary. If you stick with it long enough to master the basics, then the same controls are used for each character, although their moves are different. In addition to standard attacks and combos, most characters have the ability to fly and shoot blasts of energy from their hands, as well as several special moves and ultimate finishers.

With cell shaded graphics and a cartoony style very much in the spirit of the TV series, Dragon Ball Z is very nice to look at. One of the most enjoyable things to do to your opponent is unleash a 40 move combo culminating in a smash attack which sends them crashing through a mountain, and then teleporting behind them to finally finish them off by slamming them into the ground and blasting them with a full power energy wave. Winning is very satisfying while losing in certain game modes might earn you a comical tongue lashing from various surreal characters like a fat white cat with an umbrella!?

All in all, if you are prepared to stick with the control system and learn how to play properly, then you will have a lot of fun playing DBZ. It's likely that most of your time will be spent in the single player mode however, as it might be difficult to find anyone else who is willing to put the time in to learn how to play well enough to beat you ... oooh now could that be a challenge to any of you gamers out there? *chuckles*

4 / 5 --- Paul Golf